he was at the top of israel's most wanted list and the most senior hamas official killed since israel's last war in gaza in 2009. the israeli military posted video of the strike on you tube and said it was the opening round of a larger campaign dubbed "operation: pillar of defense." >> the goal of the operation is to defend israeli people and also target and cripple those terror organizations responsible for the ongoing rocket fire-- namely hamas, islamic jihad and others. >> suarez: in short order, smoke rose across the gaza city skyline from other air strikes, and fires burned into the night as the attacks continued. and prime minister benjamin netanyahu warned israel might expand the operation, possibly including a ground offensive. in turn, hamas proclaimed a state of emergency and called for retaliation. >> ( translated ): ahmed al jaabari has long worked and waited for this day. today, he is getting his victory as a martyr. our zionist enemy will, god willing, pay a price for this cowardly assassination. >> suarez: hamas militants answered with rocket fire, but the israelis said t